
Heavenly Father speaks to me through the Holy Ghost.
In the spring of 1829, Oliver Cowdery volunteered to be Joseph Smith’s scribe as he continued to translate the Book of Mormon. The experience thrilled him, and he wondered if he could also receive revelation and the gift to translate. His first try, though, didn’t go well.
If you’ve ever struggled to receive or understand revelation, maybe you can relate to Oliver’s experience—and learn from it. As you read Doctrine and Covenants 6, 8, and 9, notice what the Lord taught Oliver about personal revelation. For example:
What do Doctrine and Covenants 6:5–7; 8:1; 9:7–8 suggest about what the Lord requires of you before He will reveal His will?
What do you learn from Doctrine and Covenants 6:14–17, 22–24; 8:2–3; 9:7–9 about the different ways revelation might come? How can you recognize it?
What else do you learn about revelation from these sections?
Oliver’s experiences might cause you to “cast your mind” on moments when you’ve felt that the Lord was speaking to you (Doctrine and Covenants 6:22). Have you ever recorded your thoughts or feelings about these experiences? If so, consider reading what you wrote. If not, take some time to write down what you remember. Consider how you can continue to draw strength from these experiences. For some ideas, see Elder Neil L. Andersen’s message “Spiritually Defining Memories” (Ensign or Liahona, May 2020, 18–22).
Start with this first piece, place it on the board.
Pass out all other pieces to the youth.
Explain that all the pieces will fit together and they will know they are next by the shapes.
If they have a scripture ref on their shape, tell them to look it up and have it ready to read.
If there is a question ask them to do their best to answer it and share their own experience.
If they need a quote card you can give that to them. When everyone feels prepared you can start.

When you get to these hands, there are a lot of scriptures for one student to read. Tell them to look up the first scripture ref. and the class will help with the others. Then you will write down all the requirements on the tips of the fingers, like this:

These scripture cards are a free printable.

At the end ask the youth, what was the point of this lesson? What did you learn about revelation? How is it important to learn this? Record there answers at the arrow.

These are the papers where the youth can record their memories. There is a beautiful quote from Elder Andersen that they can read before they record their feelings.

(You can print in BW setting and it will still look great)
Several Church leaders have shared their experiences with revelation in the “Hear Him” video collection. After watching one or more of these videos, you might feel inspired to record your own experiences, sharing how the Lord has spoken to you.
See also Topics and Questions, “Personal Revelation,” Gospel Library; “Oliver Cowdery’s Gift,” in Revelations in Context, 15–19.
I love this idea, if you still have time and if the youth feel comfortable with you recording them, you can record their testimony and send it to them and/or their parents.

Notebook cover is already available in the lesson bundle. But you can purchase them separately here. I bought small notebooks from Dollar Tree and they fit perfectly.

Comments